Here is another jazz album which caused me to have a smile on my face from beginning to end. My dad was into jazz, and I remember our first family car had an eight-track cartridge player and we would often listen to big band classics whilst out for a drive. This project has been pulled together by Champian Fulton (vocals/piano) along with two bassists in Neal Miner and Mike Gurrola along with drummers Tainaka Fukushi and Charles Ruggiero. But as one may be able to tell from the title of the album, this is all about the music which was created with the “canaries”, singers who were an integral part of the scene, and to fulfil her ideas she has brought in Gretje Angel, Carmen Bradford, Olivia Chindamo, Jane Monheit and Vanessa Perea to also take on lead roles.
All six singers have plenty of room to make their voices heard, with everyone getting two songs (apart from Champian who gets more, but it is her band), and the different vocal styles are used to switch the styles. There is a swing to this, a class, and very much a feeling of a time gone by. This is not music to be rushed, but instead we have plenty of brushes on the drums, reflective bass and delectable piano, and then over the top we have the canaries. So many famous female singers started with the big bands such as Billie Holiday, Anita O’Day, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, Jo Stafford, Rosemarie Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, and by listening to this album we get a recreation of those days gone by. It is hard to pick a favourite, but the upbeat “Tea For Two” (vocals by Carmen) is bright and cheery with a driving beat, walking bass, scat vocals and rippling piano. Old school jazz taking us back to the days of glamour, this is a fun listen.
Rating: 8/10
